Rail-fastening devices

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to rail-fastening devices for fastening rails to mounting members such as ties or sleepers and of the kind where a bow-shaped clamp is elastically tightenable to hold the rail in position, a part or parts of the clamp resting on the tie or sleeper and another part of the clamp resting on the rail in such a fashion that one part of the clamp presses on the rail foot with a long spiral spring excursion positively to press the rail permanently in a downward direction. In accordance with the invention, one or more stiffly sprung parts of the clamp project over the rail foot and this part or parts on contacting the rail foot or on contacting other parts of the clamp that presses down the rail foot in a positive manner with a long spring excursion, forms not only an elastic limitation of the tightening excursion against plastification of the clamp but also a stiffly sprung resistance to lifting and tilting movement of the rail.

United States Patent Munch [54] RAIL-FASTENING DEVICES [72] Inventor:Wilhelm Munch, Rodenbecker Strasse 35, 4950 Minden, Germany [22] Filed:I Oct. 22, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 83,136

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 27, 1969 Germany ..l9540080[52] U.S. Ci ..238/349 [5 1] Int. Cl. ..E0lh 9/48 [58] Field of Search..238/349, 310, 338, 351

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,439,874 4/1969 Meier.....'..238/349 2,281,750 5/1942 Clarkson ..238/349 FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 222,978 7/1959 Australia ..238/349 1 Sept. 12, 1972 PrimaryExaminer-Gerald M. Forlenza Assistant ExaminerRichard A. BertschAttorney-George F. Dvorak, Stephen T. Skrydlak and Marden S. Gordon [57]ABSTRACT This invention relates to rail-fastening devices for fasteningrails to mounting members such as ties or sleepers and of the kind wherea bow-shaped clamp is elastically tightenable to hold the rail inposition, a part or parts of the clamp resting on the tie or sleeper andanother part of the clamp resting on the rail in such a fashion that onepart of the clamp presses on the rail foot with a long spiral springexcursion positively to press the rail permanently in a downwarddirection. In accordance with the invention, one or more stifiiy sprungparts of the clamp project over the rail foot and this part or parts oncontacting the rail foot or on contacting other parts of the clamp thatpresses down the rail foot in a positive manner with a long springexcursion, forms not only an elastic limitation of the tighteningexcursion againstplastification of the clamp but also a stiffly sprungresistance to lifting and tilting movement of the rail.

6 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures PATENTEBSEM I 12 I 3.690.551 sum 2 or 4PATENTED EP 12 2 3.690.551 sum 3 or 4 Fig.14

RAIL-FASTENING DEVICES The present invention relates to devices forfastening rails to ties, mounting plates or other mounting devices withor without the interposition of base plates and is of particularreference to the mounting of rails for railroad tracks and the like.

Rail-fastening devices are known which utilize elastically tightenablebow-shaped clamps which rest on the one hand on the tie or mountingplate, and on the other hand on the foot of the rail. ln-this way, oneor more parts of the sprung clamp press against the rail foot with along spring excursion and positively press the rail permanently in adownward direction. It is also known to bring about a limitation of thespring excursion of such springy clamping hoops by causing thedownwardly pressed middle portion of the -clamp to come into contactwith a guiding bar of the structural members holding the rail.

In current railroad operations, higher speeds and higher axle loads aresought. This signifies higher stresses on the rails in the verticaldirection which, despite the effect of thetightening forces operating onthe foot of the rail by the bow-shaped clamps, can lead to a lifting ofthe rail foot. At the same time, when travelling around a curve, thereare increased stresses on the rail by horizontal components of forcewhich tend to tilt the rail.

It is an object of the invention so to construct the known fasteningarrangement utilizing elastically tightenable bow-shaped clamps that theforces effecting a raising or tilting of the rail are also absorbedunder spring action, by means of a novel shaping and arrangement of theclamps, whilst still maintaining the elastically springy pressing of therail foot against the under-supports for the rail.

This is attained in accordance with the invention by causing one or morestiffly sprung parts of the elastically tightenable bow-shaped clamp toproject in the tightened operating position above the rail foot andthese parts resist possible raising or tilting movement of the rail bycontacting the upper side of the rail foot or the parts of the clamppositively pressing down the rail foot with a long spring excursion.

A rail-fastening constructed according to the invention offers theadvantage that parts of the bow-shaped clamp on the one hand pressesdown the rails over a long spring excursion and on the other hand,either by bracing these clamp parts against another stiffly sprung partof the clamp or with a common contact of one part of the clamp as wellas with another on the surface of the rail foot, oppose increasedlifting forces of the rail as well as a possible tilting movement of thelatter over a short spring excursion, with an increased holding force.

For example, according to the invention, the stiflly sprung part orparts of the clamp projecting over the rail foot can reach up to thoseparts of a clamping bow which press down positively on the rail foot,thus resting on these parts in the tightened operating position or arelocated thereabove. In one embodiment, utilizing a bow-shaped clampwhich is formed with a somewhat W-shape and having mutually opposedends, an extension of the bight of the middle portion of the clamp whichpasses around a stem of the fastening device and is adjacent the rail,extends up to a point above the oppositely directed ends of theclamp'lying on the foot of the rail. In another embodiment utilizing abow-shaped clamp, the arcuate middle portion of which rests on the tieor a similar supporting device, and two shanks branch out from thismiddle portion and extend substantially parallel to one another and onboth sides of the stem of the fastening means, and project to such anextent above the foot of the rail that the stiffly sprung parts of theshanks come into contact with the ends of the clamp lying on therail'foot.

The stiffly sprung part or parts of the clamp bow projecting above therail foot may, however, also in the tightened operating position, liedirectly against the surface of the rail foot, preferably between theedge of the rail foot and the ends of the clamp bow pressing down on therail foot.

A rail-fastening device according to the invention may also be soconstructed that the stiffiy sprung part or parts of the'clampprojecting above the rail foot are so arranged that, in the tightenedoperating position, they lie not only on the surface of the rail footbut also for limitation of the spring excursion on another guiding partfor the rail.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, referencewill now be made to the accompanying drawings which show certainembodiments thereof by way of example, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a vertical section through a rail-fastening device in thetightened operating position along the line I-I of FIG. 2,

FIG. 2 is a plan view, and

FIG. 3 is a side view, of the rail-fastening device illustrated in FIG.1, 7

FIG. 4 shows the same rail-fastening device before tightening,

FIG. 5 shows a vertical section through a second embodiment ofrail-fastening device in the tightened operating position along the lineV-V of FIG. 6,

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the rail-fastening device illustrated in FIG.5,

FIG. 7 shows a section along the line VIIVII of FIG. 6 taken in thelongitudinal direction of the rail,

FIG. 8 shows the rail-fastening device according to FIG. 5 beforetightening,

FIG. 9 shows the same fastening device before tightening (section lineIXIX of FIG. 6) illustrated in the same aspect as FIG. 7,

FIG. 10 is a vertical section through a third embodiment ofrail-fastening device in the tightened operating position along the lineX-X of FIG. 11,

FIG. 11 is a plan view, and

FIG. 12 is a side view, of the rail-fastening device, illustrated inFIG. 10,

FIG. 13 shows the rail-fastening device according to FIGS. 10-12 beforetightening of the clamp, and

FIG. 14 shows a loading diagram typical of a railfastening deviceaccording to the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS.l-4 there is used a somewhat W- shaped elastically tightenablebow-shaped clamp I whose ends 2 are oppositely directed and, in thetightened position, press down the foot 3 of the rail 4. The foot of therail rests on a mounting plate 6 with the interposition of a resilientintermediate layer 5, said plate 6 being provided with bolts 7 and nuts8. On

tightening the nuts 8, the hoop of clamp l is urged out of the positionillustrated in FIG. 4 and into the position indicated in FIG. 1 insection. In both positions, the parts 9 of the clamping hoop 1 rest uponthe mounting plate 6, as a result of which the two ends 2 of theclamping hoop positively press down on the foot of the rail 3 in thetightened position shown in FIG. 1.

An extension of the bight of the middle portion 10 of the clamp whichpasses round the stem of the bolt 7 and is adjacent the rail, extends upto a point above the oppositely directed ends 2 of the clamp lying ontherail foot 3. In this way, this projecting part 10 of the clamp, due toits contact against the clamp ends 2, resists possible raising ortilting motions of the rail by stiff spring action. Thus, thereisobtained a desired stifi spring effect of the clamp, additionally toits soft spring action for holding down the foot of the rail, without ahigh material cost. The excursion of the soft springing action isindicated at x and that of the stiff springing at y. .In the embodimentaccording to FIGS. -9, a bowshaped clamp is utilised whose arcuatemiddle portion 11 rests on the mounting plate 6. From this middleportion of'the clamp there branch out two shanks 13'which are generallyparallel to each other and extend on both sides of the fastening bolt 7which extend above the rail foot over corresponding bendings in theoppositely directed ends 12 pressing under spring action on the railfoot. In this way, in the tightened operating position, there ends 12lie directly under the not yet bent stifi'ly sprung parts of the shanks13 projecting over the edge of the rail foot so that these parts form astiffly sprung contactor for the ends 12 of the clamp when the rail issubjected to high tilting or lifting forces.

The rail-fastening device illustrated in FIGS. -13 depict an embodimentof the invention with a somewhat W-shaped clamp 16 whose ends 14 restingon the rail foot are oppositely directed. The parts 17 of the clamp reston the mounting plate 6. A middle portion of the clamp passing aroundthe bolt 7 and projecting up to an area above the foot of the rail 3 is,in this case, bent downwards to such an extend that, in the tightenedoperating position, it lies against the surface of the rail foot andindeedbetween the edge of the rail foot and the ends 14 of the clamp. Itis also possible to arrange the stiffly sprung parts of the clampprojecting above the rail foot in such a manner that, in the tightenedoperating position, they rest not only on the surface of the rail footbut also on a rail guiding bar, not shown.

The loading diagram illustrated in FIG. 14 shows that with a usualoperating tightening of 1,200 kp there is available a spring excursionof about 11 mm but, however, a rail-fastening constructed in accordancewith the invention can take up a further tightening force up to about3,000 kp over a spring excursion of about 1 mm. Thenormal tightenedoperating position is indicated by means of a circle with the letter z.The diagram of under load conditions is shown in full lines and thediagram under load-removal conditions is illustrated by dotted lines. I

I claim:

1. A rail fastening device for fastening a rail to a mounting membercomprising:

a flexible rod like bow-shaped clamp member defined by a middle portionand end portions;

the fastening member.

said middle portion being flexible and arcuately shaped and including afirst sectionthereof. resting on the mounting member and a secondsection thereof projecting over the foot of said rail;

an opening in the middle portion for accomodating the stem of afastening member;

said end portions resting on the foot of said rail and extendinglongitudinally along a portion thereof forming a long spring excursionadapted to press said rail in a downward direction toward said mountingmember; I

said second section adapted to engage the top of said rail foot upontightening said fastening member to form an elastic limitation oftheexcursion of the fastening member to prevent plastification of saidclamp along with defining a stiffly sprung resistance to any lifting andtilting movement of said rail.

2. A fastening device according to claim 1 wherein said second sectioncontacts said rail foot between the longitudinal edge thereof and saidend portions that press down said rail foot.

3. A fastening device according to claim 1, wherein said middle portionof said clamp projecting over said rail foot is arranged to rest both onthe surface of said rail foot and on a guide bar of said rail upontightening 4. A rail fastening device for fastening a rail to a mountingmember comprising:

a flexible rod like bow-shaped clamp member defined by a middle portionand end portions;

said middle portion being flexible and arcuately shaped and including afirst section thereof resting on the mounting member and a secondsection thereof projecting over the foot of said rail;

an opening in the middle portion for accomodating the stem of afastening member;

said end portions resting on the foot of said rail and extendinglongitudinally along a portion thereof forming a long spring excursionadapted to press said rail in a downward direction toward said mountingmember;

said second section extending over said end portions for contacttherewith upon tightening said fastening member to fonn an elasticlimitation of the excursion of the fastening member to preventplastification of said clamp along with defining a stiffly sprungresistance to any lifting and tilting movement of said rail.

5. A fastening device according to claim 4 wherein said clamp membercomprises a substantially W- shaped body section with mutually opposedends resting on the rail foot, the middle portion of said clampextending above and adjacent said rail up to a point directly above saidoppositely directed ends of said clamp lying on the foot of said railfor contact therewith upon tightening the fastening member.

6. A rail fastening device for fastening a rail to a mounting membercomprising:

a flexible rod like bow shaped clamp member defined by a middle portion,end portions, and shank portions interconnecting the middle and endportions,

said middle portion being flexible and arcuately shaped with a sectionthereof resting on the mounting member;

over said rail foot that upon tightening the fastening member to urgethe shanks downwardly at least one stiffly sprung portion of said shankscomes into contact with said end portions of said clamp lying on saidrail foot so as to form an elastic limitation of the tighteningexcursion of the fastening member to prevent plastification of saidclamp along with providing a stiffly sprung resistance to lifting andtilting movement of said rail.

1. A rail fastening device for fastening a rail to a mounting membercomprising: a flexible rod like bow-shaped clamp member defined by amiddle portion and end portions; said middle portion being flexible andarcuately shaped and including a first section thereof resting on themounting member and a second section thereof projecting over the foot ofsaid rail; an opening in the middle portion for accomodating the stem ofa fastening member; said end portions resting on the foot of said railand extending longitudinally along a portion thereof forming a longspring excursion adapted to press said rail in a downward directiontoward said mounting member; said second section adapted to engage thetoP of said rail foot upon tightening said fastening member to form anelastic limitation of the excursion of the fastening member to preventplastification of said clamp along with defining a stiffly sprungresistance to any lifting and tilting movement of said rail.
 2. Afastening device according to claim 1 wherein said second sectioncontacts said rail foot between the longitudinal edge thereof and saidend portions that press down said rail foot.
 3. A fastening deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein said middle portion of said clampprojecting over said rail foot is arranged to rest both on the surfaceof said rail foot and on a guide bar of said rail upon tightening thefastening member.
 4. A rail fastening device for fastening a rail to amounting member comprising: a flexible rod like bow-shaped clamp memberdefined by a middle portion and end portions; said middle portion beingflexible and arcuately shaped and including a first section thereofresting on the mounting member and a second section thereof projectingover the foot of said rail; an opening in the middle portion foraccomodating the stem of a fastening member; said end portions restingon the foot of said rail and extending longitudinally along a portionthereof forming a long spring excursion adapted to press said rail in adownward direction toward said mounting member; said second sectionextending over said end portions for contact therewith upon tighteningsaid fastening member to form an elastic limitation of the excursion ofthe fastening member to prevent plastification of said clamp along withdefining a stiffly sprung resistance to any lifting and tilting movementof said rail.
 5. A fastening device according to claim 4 wherein saidclamp member comprises a substantially W-shaped body section withmutually opposed ends resting on the rail foot, the middle portion ofsaid clamp extending above and adjacent said rail up to a point directlyabove said oppositely directed ends of said clamp lying on the foot ofsaid rail for contact therewith upon tightening the fastening member. 6.A rail fastening device for fastening a rail to a mounting membercomprising: a flexible rod like bow shaped clamp member defined by amiddle portion, end portions, and shank portions interconnecting themiddle and end portions, said middle portion being flexible andarcuately shaped with a section thereof resting on the mounting member;an opening in the middle portion for accomodating the stem of afastening member; said end portions resting on the foot of said railforming a long spring excursion positively pressing said rail downwardlytoward said mounting member; said shank portions including two shankswhich branch out from said arcuate middle portion and extendsubstantially parallel to one another and on both sides of a stem of thefastening member, said shanks projecting to such an extend above andover said rail foot that upon tightening the fastening member to urgethe shanks downwardly at least one stiffly sprung portion of said shankscomes into contact with said end portions of said clamp lying on saidrail foot so as to form an elastic limitation of the tighteningexcursion of the fastening member to prevent plastification of saidclamp along with providing a stiffly sprung resistance to lifting andtilting movement of said rail.